I was asked if I’d ever heard of Disorganised Syndrome. Wow! At first I thought, how funny, don’t we ALL have disorganized syndrome! Then I thought, what a stupid, stupid world, that we are labeling and pathologising everything we consider ‘imperfect’. BUT…. yes, I did some quick research and yes, there IS a condition called Disorganised Syndrome!

Christine Evans
Hi Donna, my 28yr old daughter is seeing a psychiatrist to try and find out what is wrong with her. he thinks she has Disorganised Syndrome, i think she is on the spectrum. Have you heard of this syndrome?

Donna Williams
It seems there’s still controversy as to whether it is considered a form of Schizophrenia (autism was also once called Childhood Schizophrenia and some kinds of Bipolar and DID was generally thought to be Schizophrenia and neither now are) or separate. Anyway, seems Disorganised Syndrome is very much like a mixture of Asperger’s, ADHD and some elements of mental disorganisation in Bipolar… wild combo. Here’s a link and the Abstract from it:

“Simple schizophrenia is a sometimes controversial diagnosis. Here we review the concept with particular reference to its history in diagnostic systems. Using an illustrative real case of a 25-year-old man, we show that there is a need to retain this diagnostic category, which may fit better within proposed dimensional (psychomotor poverty, disorganisation and reality distortion) rather than categorical classifications of schizophrenia. Symptoms of the disorder may be better revealed by functional assessment than by relying on descriptive psychopathology.”

I have CERTAINLY encountered those with Aspergers who fit the description in this case. Wild stuff… amazing what would happen in the Asperger’s population, particularly the Autistic Pride movement if AS was clearly distinguished from this Disorganised Syndrome… essentially we’d find there may not be ‘high and low’ functioning Aspies but those with and without Disorganised Syndrome. Now there’s a controversy! And given that Tony Attwood’s once quoted stats (saw it on the screen at a lecture) were that around 20% of those with AS develop co-morbid Schizophrenia (and keep in mind that probably just means ‘psychosis’) then we should wonder if this is sometimes Disorganised Syndrome as a co-morbid with AS.
Also, the disorganisation described I’ve also seen in salicylate intolerant people (those with impaired detox function) on high salicylate intake (and those swallowing fluoride toothpaste) so without the diagnostician covering that base these folks may never double check that basis for mental disorganisation.

Christine Evans
That is so interesting. thank you so much Donna. im getting fed up with these proffessionals who can’t give my daughter the help she needs, just give her a label and tablets and leave her to it! I knew I’d get more info from you! thank you x

Donna Williams
also keep in mind that gluten intolerance (not always Coeliac) will also cause mental confusion for some… 70% of schizophrenic patients in one study improved once they went GF… Casein (cow’s milk) effects me like LSD… so no mental organisation there either. worth a thought… plus Simultagnosia (visual perceptual fragmentation) is essentially going to present as context blindness… so could easily present as part of high level disorganisation … another idea is a 30 day trial on 2000mg L-Glutamine… an amino acid used to improve info processing and widely used in the autism and schizophrenic communities. Ya never know.

Donna Williams, BA Hons, Dip Ed.
Author, artist, singer-songwriter, screenwriter.
Autism consultant and public speaker.

http://www.myspace.com/nobodynowherethefilm
http://www.donnawilliams.net
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